Page 19 of Ira

“It’s my favorite thing I’ve eaten since I came to the shadow realm.”

Well, that settled it. I would have to return home at the first available opportunity.

“I should probably get back,” I sighed eventually, stacking the empty bowls to return them to the palace kitchens on my way past. Undoubtedly, Andrus would be even more unhappy with me than usual, which would make for a long afternoon.

“Oh,” Meera said, immediately reaching for them. “I can take those—”

“Absolutely not. We are going to slowly get you accustomed to the idea of not doing everything yourself.”

“You already brought me lunch! That’s one thing already.”

“Then today will be a challenging day for you,” I said, gently patting her arm as I stood, keeping the bowls safely tucked against my side.

This time, she didn’t catch her laugh in time, and I memorized the sound as she climbed to her feet. “Oh, how I suffer. I’m really glad I met you, Verner.”

“I’m glad I met you too. And I’ll see you tomorrow, yes?”

“Are you sure you aren’t sick of me?” Her tone said she was teasing, but I suspected there was a little more honesty in the question than she wanted to admit.

“I’ll never be sick of you, Meera,” I replied solemnly. If anyone was going to tire of this arrangement, it would be her, probably when she met a Shade that shedidwant to pursue a romantic connection with.

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, and Euphemia fell into step beside me as I made my way back to the palace. She kept to herself mostly, finding the younger members of the Guard tiresome after decades of service, though she seemed to make an exception for me.

“I never pictured you going for one of those Hunter women,” Euphemia said quietly, the disapproval in her voice clear.

That was now two members of the Guard that knew I was spending time with Meera. My gut churned uneasily, wondering how Meera would respond to that. I should have mentioned Andrus’s words while I was with her, but I’d put them out of my mind.

“I’m not courting Meera if that’s what you’re suggesting. But I’m curious to know why you’d think that I wouldn’t, if I were fortunate to have the opportunity?” I asked calmly, hoping I didn’t let my own disapproval show. I respected Euphemia, but her tone had rubbed me the wrong way.

“You should find a respectable female Shade. Someone your own kind. I saw that one you were speaking to interact with the queen’s murderous sister at dinner. You are the company you keep, after all,” she muttered.

I had no idea how to respond to that. In truth, I had no desire to say anything that might be construed as defending Astrid Bishop. Like every Shade in the realm, I didn’t trust her. Where Meera and the others’ presence had been easy enough to reconcile due to their mostly nonviolent pasts, there was nooverlooking the dangerous nature of the Hunters where Astrid was concerned. Her hands were blackened with the shadows of the Shades whose lives she’d taken.

“I’m a friend to Meera, nothing more. Adjusting to life in the shadow realm has been challenging for her, and if I can ease that struggle, why would I not?”

“Whywouldyou? Perhaps you should spend some time with my niece. She has already had a child—I’m sure she could comfortably bear another. You need an heir, do you not? Your parents must be getting worried about that.”

I certainly wasn’t dignifyingthatwith an answer. My parents’ generation were nightmares for setting their children up with whoever they thought would be useful for procreating purposes like we were cattle to be bred at will.

“My cousin, Osric, is next in line after me. The estate is still set to stay within the family.”

“Perhaps I should send my niece to him instead, since he’s the more promising prospect.”

“Perhaps you should,” I agreed coolly, though her words had stung a little. I couldn’t even entirely say why—I wasn’t in competition with Osric, not really. He couldn’t take my position unless I chose to give it up. Perhaps it was just weighing on me more than usual that he would uphold tradition far better than I ever would, even if I felt that most of those traditions weren’t worth upholding in the first place.

Not when change was bringing so much good with it. If it came down to choosing between my friendship with Meera, or doing things the way they’d always been done at home…

There was no choosing.

The decision had already been made in my mind.

Chapter 6

“How do you want me?” Verner asked, standing next to the bed and patiently waiting for my instruction.

“Naked, to start with. Drop your shadows,” I ordered breathily, coming to stand in front of him. Despite the fact that I had to tip my head back to meet his gaze, I felt entirely in control of how this would go.

Wordlessly, Verner let his shadows fall away, though the view I had of his body was still hazy somehow. Dark gray skin and defined muscle, a deep V that led down to a vaguely human-shaped cock. It was sexy, but something niggled at me. It didn’t seem quite right.

---